Confession: I love salted caramel and chocolate. As indulgences go, that decadent combination is my favorite.  And if I ever write a book on healthy living, it might have to be titled: Oh,yes. You Can Still Have Dessert.  We like to have our sweets—and they must be worth it—without allowing them a large percentage of our daily calorie budget.

So, with that in mind, I developed a simple, easy recipe for Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, guided by things I’ve learned from Hungry Girl about swaps that save calories without sacrificing flavor.

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

1 envelope Nestle No Sugar Added (50-calorie) Hot Chocolate (or, if you’re really strapped for calories, try Swiss Miss Diet Hot Chocolate to subtract another 25:))

2 TBS Sugar Free Salted Caramel Syrup  (I love these Torani syrups, which contain 0 calories for a whopping, flavorful 2T.  I ordered my SF Salted Caramel online, and it’s SO worth it.  You can order here or here, and BPS will even gift you with other free goodies when you order.)

2 TBS Fat Free Reddi Whip

1 tsp sugar free Caramel Sundae Syrup

dash coarse ground sea salt

Simple:  Make hot chocolate according to package directions, stirring well.  Add SF Salted Caramel syrup.  Top with FF Reddi Whip, drizzle with caramel sundae sauce, and sprinkle with sea salt.  Voila!  70-calorie (45 if you substitute Diet Swiss Miss) knock-your-socks-off, super decadent hot chocolate.  Who needs those fancy flavored cocoas that pack in twice the calories?

NOW.  If you’re in the mood to double the fun, make up a batch of these mouth-watering cookies to dunk.  At just 61 calories each, these have become our new family favorite.  Perfect for a chocolate craving.:)

Chocolate Spice Cookies

(recipe from Perfect Light Desserts by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim….I LOVE this cookbook!  I discovered it at the library, but after I tried a few of the recipes, I decided I needed my own copy.:)  Find it here…it’s WAY worth it.)

1 1/2c all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry measuring cup and level off)

1/3c Dutch-process cocoa powder (Ghirardelli brand is my favorite!)

2t ground cinnamon

1t ground ginger

1t baking soda

1/2t ground cloves

1/2t salt

4T unsalted butter, melted

1c sugar

1/4c unsweetened applesauce

1/4c molasses

2 cookie sheets lined with parchment

1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir with a whisk.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together.  Beat in applesauce and molasses.
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to make a soft dough.
5. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet (dough will be soft and a tiny bit sticky, but easy to work with) at least an inch a part (I can fit 12 on one cookie sheet).
6. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, changing the position of the pans about halfway through the baking.  Exchange the top pan and the bottom and also turn them back to front at the same time.  The cookies will still be fairly moist when done.  Avoid overbaking them or they will be dry and hard.
7. Slide the parchment from the pan to a wire rack to cool.
8. Keep the cookies between sheets of parchment container with a tight-fitting cover.

SO delicious!  Enjoy!

Hope on over to Hear the Bells’ Taste this Thursday for more delicious recipes…it’s a link party!:)